Depression, anxiety and stress are the most prevalent mental health problems among university students, which may
adversely influence their psychological wellbeing. Considering these problems, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress
Scale-21 (DASS-21) may hold more promise as a screening tool. The present study sought to assess competing models
of the latent factor structure of the DASS-21 utilizing Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and also to examine the multi
group invariance. An exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students recruited from
a public university in Sarawak, Malaysia. The self-report English language questionnaire was administered to 254
students. SPSS version 21 was used for data analysis. Overall, the DASS-21 exhibited adequate reliability, with the three-factor model showing good fit to the data from the current study. Gender invariance was also adequately
demonstrated. However, high inter correlations indicated that depression, anxiety and stress may not be
distinguishable constructs, as was originally perceived
